Day 6 - 200 -- Moonstruck

Where were you 50 years ago today? For those of that certain age, most of us were seated in front of a television -- most likely still black and white. The lunar landing was underway along with the walk outside the lander. It was surreal to see this happening on our televisions. The journey to get there took the work of hundreds of thousands of people. The narrow windows of time and area necessary to land, redock with orbiter and re-enter the earth's atmosphere required infinitesimal attention to detail and lots of practice in simulators that were making educated guesses as to what might be encountered. I have been a space junkie since the earliest missions when I was a small child. As an adult, I've been in a mock up of the Russian capsule in which Yuri Gagaren orbited the earth and seen miniature models of lunar landers, the shuttle Discovery complete with Canadarm, and sat at mission control in Houston at Johnson Space Center, I've met a Canadian astronaut, Roberta Bondar. I've spoken with nutritional biochemists and food scientists working in the space program. It all still creates feelings of awe and wonder for me.

As an educator, students often heard of the things we've learned from research occurring in space.  We've learned much about bone density by understanding the workings of the various cells and hormones involved. This has helped with newer ways to treat osteoporosis. Foods eaten in space have changed dramatically from the toothpaste tube purees in the early Mercury missions. At the ISS, foods eaten at home have been sterilized and packaged for space travel and rethermalizing on the station. Astronauts can personalize their food choices, making longer missions more bearable. From early missions, we learned that protein metabolism was altered is micro-gravity. Ensuring adequate protein intake to avoid tissue breakdown came from the information gathered in the research during flights. Similarly, providing adequate energy and fluids for space walks and working in the conditions of space flight was paramount. While this knowledge helped with the success of flights, it also informed medical and dietetic treatments for disease or plans for athletic endeavors. Food safety in space became a major concern, but this also helped control potential problems on earth. In an ideal world, I might have put a course together dealing with space program  technology and its impact on nutritional wellbeing of all people. 

Many songs about the moon exist, of course. I wanted one that fit with the anniversary noted today. So, one song rose to the front of my mind. Enjoy!

Walking on the Moon -- The Police